Here is a partially restored version of the legendary July 21, 1969 video — NASA televised the historic lunar landing mission to millions live — of U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong taking his first steps on the moon. Compare the restored and unrestored versions below.

Head to NASA to see NASA’s Apollo 11 library of restored and partially restored videos and images from that legendary day.

The initial video release, part of a larger Apollo 11 moonwalk restoration project, features 15 key moments from the historic lunar excursion of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin …

A team of Apollo-era engineers, who helped produce the 1969 live broadcast of the moonwalk, acquired the best of the broadcast-format video from a variety of sources for the restoration effort. These included a copy of a tape recorded at NASA’s Sydney, Australia, video switching center, where down-linked television from Parkes and Honeysuckle Creek was received for transmission to the U.S.; original broadcast tapes from the CBS News Archive recorded via direct microwave and landline feeds from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston; and kinescopes found in film vaults at Johnson that had not been viewed for 36 years …

“The restoration is ongoing and may produce even better video,” said Richard Nafzger, an engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., who oversaw television processing at the ground tracking sites during Apollo 11. “The restoration project is scheduled to be completed in September and will provide the public, future historians, and the National Archives with the highest quality video of this historic event.”

Check out NASA for its list and display of restored and partially restored video streams from various aspects of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. Included are:

Apollo 11 Partial Restoration HD Video Streams

Apollo 11 Moonwalk Montage

One Small Step …

This video shows Neil Armstrong climbing down the lunar module ladder to the lunar surface. The video compares existing footage with the partially restored video. The thumbnail image shows the new footage on the left and the old on the right.

Buzz Aldrin Sets Foot on the Moon

This video shows Buzz Aldrin descending the lunar module ladder. The video compares existing footage with the partially restored video. The thumbnail image shows the new footage on the left and the old on the right.